Jayapura - stock photo

An aerial view of Jayapura, the capital city of Papua province, on the western half of the island of New Guinea, Indonesia. Jayaura is a port city on the north coast of New Guinea, just west of the International border of Papua New Guinea. Rainforest clad mountains rise steeply out of the placid Pacific Ocean, the deceptive tranquility hiding a busy commercial regional city. During World War II, the northern part of Dutch New Guinea was occupied by Japanese forces in 1942. Allied forces drove out the Japanese after amphibious landings near Hollandia, from 21 April 1944. The area served as General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters until the conquest of the Philippines in March 1945. Over twenty U.S. bases were established and half a million US personnel moved through the area. In 1945, the Dutch made Hollandia the capital of Netherlands New Guinea. After the territory was handed over to the United Nations, on October 1, 1962, the city went by a dual Dutch/Indonesian name: Hollandia/Kota Baru (New Town). When Indonesia took control over the city on May 1, 1963, it became Kota Baru. The city was briefly renamed Sukarnapura, after President Sukarno, until the end of 1968, when it acquired its present name. Jayapura is Sanskrit for "City of Victory" and was named by Suharto, who wanted to glorify his victories fighting Operation Trikora against the Netherlands in 1962. The last battle against the Dutch was fought in Jayapura from 14 August 1962 - 15 August 1962.